The present invention relates to assigning addresses to devices in a computer input/output (I/O) system, and more particularly relates to I/O devices automatically acquiring addresses in an I/O system.
The need for assigning unique addresses to I/O devices in a computer system is well known. Rosenberg, "Program Controlled I/O Address Assignment", IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 16, No. 1, June 1973, pages 67-68, discloses dynamically assigning addresses to control units wherein an I/O controller places a reset address on an I/O interface and energizes an I/O Op line. A device attached to the I/O controller responds to the I/O Op line, and the I/O interface supplies the I/O controller with a program assigned address, which is transferred by the controller to the device.
Mitchell, Jr., "Input/Output Device Address Recognition Mechanism", IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 20, No. 7, December, 1977, pages 2652-2653, discloses an I/O device address recognition mechanism wherein a full device address assignment is initially made or changed dynamically by way of a utility program.
Arndt, "Satellite Station Address Assignment Method", IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 22, No. 5, October, 1979, pages 2063-2064, discloses a method wherein a satellite station assigns itself a special address for answering a poll to this address by a master station. After receiving a response to the poll, the master station selects the next available address from a list and issues a command to the satellite address, assigning the selected address to the satellite.
Hill et al, "Dynamic Device Address Assignment Mechanism", IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 23, No. 8, January, 1981, pages 3564-3565, discloses an assignment mechanism wherein a host processor assigns device addresses to device control units by a SET DEVICE ADDRESS command. This command sets the desired address into a device address register in the first (or next) device control unit.
Janson et al, "Dynamic Address Allocation in a Local Area Network", IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 25, No. 12, May, 1983, pages 6343-6345, discloses a technique for dynamically assigning unique stations or their individual functions in a local area network wherein the general clock is used to make the addresses unique.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,155,117 issued May 15, 1979 to Mitchell, Jr. et al for "Synchronizing Channel-to-Channel Adapter" discloses a channel-to-channel adapter capable of enabling communication between more than two data processors wherein device addresses are selected in advance and reserved for communication with the disclosed channel-to-channel adapter.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,373,181 issued Feb. 8, 1983 to Chisholm et al for "Dynamic Device Address Assignment Mechanism for a Data Processing System" discloses a peripheral device address assignment mechanism in which a unique I/O command on the processor I/O bus loads the device address into a loadable device address register is each peripheral device control unit.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,608,562 issued Aug. 26, 1986 to Minor et al for "Address Personalization for a Remotely Attached Device" discloses a data transmission system wherein the polarization of a serially transmitted test signal and a locally generated control signal are used to provide unique addresses for identical devices connected to a transmitting unit.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,638,313 issued Jan. 20, 1987 to Sherwood, Jr. et al for "Addressing for a Multipoint Communication System for Patient Monitoring" discloses a method for dynamically assigning addresses to new modules as they are coupled to a communication system with a synchronous data link control bus controlled by a primary station wherein the primary station sends the module a packet which assigns the module with the next available address.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,800,384 issued Jan. 24, 1989 to Snijders for "Arrangement for Identifying Peripheral Apparatus Such as Workstations, Printers and Such Like, Which Can Optionally Be Connected in Geographically Different Locations to a Communication Network by Means of Local Coupling Units" discloses a module coupling unit which functions as an interface between a communication unit or peripheral apparatus and a communications network and which includes a code word signal generator for generating a unique address code which is stored in the coupling unit and which can be read and transferred to a diagnostic module for determining the geographical address of a communications unit in which a disturbance has occurred.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,922,410 issued May 1, 1990 to Morikawa et al for "Input/Output System Capable of Allotting Addresses to a Plurality of Input/Output Devices" discloses an input/output processing system including a plurality of channels connected to each of a plurality of input/output control devices and a memory unit for storing information representing the address of each of the control devices in association with the identification number of the channel connected to the control devices. The channel for data transfer is selected upon evoking a request from a central processing unit whereupon the information representing the address of the controller device is read out from the memory unit and the address of the control device is generated on the basis of the information thus read out.